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Debunking the Myth of the Confederate ‘Lost Cause’ Regarding the U.S. Civil War
It’s long past time for this one to end
“Monuments to the Lost Cause will prove monuments of folly.” — Frederick Douglass
Of all the myths that some Americans have stubbornly clung to, none has been more damaging over the past 150 years than the myth of the “Lost Cause.” Put in its simplest terms, the Lost Cause views the Civil War in a manner that paints the defeat of the Confederacy in the most positive light possible, with multiple other myths put forth to explain that defeat in a way that makes it not a defeat. Reading back over that sentence, even the definition makes the Lost Cause a clearly outlandish idea, yet it has persisted for generations.
There are myriad excuses and explanations put forth to support the Lost Cause argument, some more plausible than others. For example, the untimely death of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in May 1863 was clearly a significant blow to the South’s military effectiveness, but leaders are killed in every war and the “what if?” questions could be applied to any of them.
More nefarious are the following myths used to buttress the Lost Cause stance still held by far too many Americans today.
